Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation

Project Description

Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation

Mission

The Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation is dedicated to wildlife and woodland conservation, predominately in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States. The foundation also supports local communities whose lives are entrenched with the fauna and flora they reside with.

Funded Organizations/Projects

The wildlife conservancy projects the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation is involved with include:Save the African Elephant – It is estimated that as many as 30,000 elephants were killed for ivory during 2012 alone which is an even higher number than the estimated 25,000 that were slaughtered during 2011. The slaughter is mostly due to trade with China. This is an escalating problem and the foundation is investing US$2 million every year to help protect African elephants in important areas in Gabon, Kenya, the Republic of Congo and Tanzania.
Save the Tiger – There are only around 3,000 surviving tigers left in the world and it is not known whether tigers will survive in the coming years. As with the elephants, the killing of tigers is mostly because of trade with China where every part of a tiger’s body is a sought after commodity. The foundation donates US$2 million every year to help protect tigers in areas like China, India, Malaysia, Sumatra, Russia and Thailand.
Save the Jaguar – As their habitat started diminishing, jaguars became a menace to ranchers, who it turn started killing the animals which lead to numbers drastically dropping. Scientists are working in areas like Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay to conserve and research the animals. The foundation has invested US$2.2 million since 2002 towards this cause.

Foundation’s History

Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg retired from high-profile careers at the pinnacle of success to start saving animals. The couple went on a wildlife safari in Africa in 1987 to learn about the elephant trade and other issues with wildlife and shortly after they started the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation.